By Al Hain-Cole

While all the focus will be on Mario Balotelli's first appearance against his old side, Al Hain-Cole suspects that another familiar face could steal the headlines at San Siro

After the euphoria of their surprise Champions League win over the mighty Barcelona, AC Milan will look to end the week on a high by asserting their dominance over city rivals Inter.

The neighbours have experienced a reversal of fortunes over the past few months, as the Rossoneri’s shaky start to the season has made way to a run of just one defeat in 13 Serie A games, allowing them to leapfrog their rivals in the table for the first time last weekend.

However, with three consecutive derby defeats, Massimiliano Allegri’s men will want to drive home their superiority by coming out on top on Sunday, and Bet365 make them favourites at 13/10 (2.30) to do just that.

The pressure is mounting on young boss Andrea Stramaccioni, but a second win in the Derby della Madonnina would go a long way to silencing the doubters, at odds of 21/10 (3.10).

There have been no draws in the last 20 encounters between these two sides, but you can get odds of 23/10 (3.30) if you can see that remarkable run coming to an end here.

The Nerazzurri ran out slender 1-0 winners in the ‘away’ fixture at San Siro in October, but it is hard to see this game suffering from such a shortage of goals.

Milan have not failed to score in the 18 league games since that derby defeat, while Inter have only been kept out on three occasions in that period.

A bet on both teams to score would have paid out in nine of the last 10 combined Serie A games featuring these sides, so odds of 8/13 (1.62) cannot be ignored when they come up against each other.

As is so often the case, all of the talk surrounding this match is sure to be centred on Mario Balotelli, the controversial former Inter striker who can now been found plying his trade in the famous red and black.

However, Stramaccioni has a turncoat of his own up his sleeve, in the shape of Antonio Cassano, who traded places with Giampaolo Pazzini in the summer.

The former Roma and Real Madrid man has scored in each of the last three league games, and is sure to lead the line in the absence of the injured Diego Milito, meaning he could prove a wise investment at 6/1 (7.00) to strike first on Sunday evening.

Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.